Mornei, 1 May 2012- The deputy head of the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur traveled yesterday to Mornei in West Darfur to mourn the death of a Togolese police officer killed on 20 April during a patrol to an internally displaced persons camp.

Madame Aïchatou Mindaoudou Souleymane, the UNAMID Deputy Joint Special Representative for Political Affairs (DJSR-P), joined 139 officers of the Togolese Formed Police Unit and 55 police advisors stationed in Mornei, some 70 kilometres southeast of El Geneina, to honour the loss of officer Bohonyake Tchalo the peacekeeper whose patrol was attacked by unidentified armed men. Three other peacekeepers were injured in the attack.

“The sacrifice of our colleague who was protecting innocent civilians of Darfur will not have been in vain," she told the assembled peacekeepers. "We will work all the harder to consolidate peace in western Darfur."

The DJSR-P also conveyed a strong message from Joint Special Representative Ibrahim Gambari that the Mission will not tolerate further attacks on its uniformed personnel.

Madame Souleymane also expressed hope for the speedy recovery of the three injured Togolese officers who are currently being cared for at the UNAMID hospital in El Geneina.

On 24 April, the United Nations Security Council “condemned in the strongest terms” the attack on the patrol, reiterated its full support for UNAMID and called on all parties in Darfur to cooperate with the mission.
 

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